Various rod holsters and holders for securing the butt end of a fishing rod to a person while fishing or transporting a fishing rod are known in the art. Examples include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,123,578 (Morse); 5,024,018 (Ferrigno); 4,569,466 (Webber) and 3,874,573 (Fruscella, et al.), each of which limit the mobility of the rod relative to the person fishing and each of which a require a semi-permanent attachment to a belt. These and other commercially available rod holders suffer from additional short-comings. Where the rod is not secured to the holder, a danger of losing the rod occurs if the person fishing needs both hands to accomplish an alternate task. In some instants, the holder orientation requires that the person fishing be right handed. Further, previous holders have limited mobility and orientation of the rod relative to the person fishing, especially with respect to the side to side mobility of the rod when attached to the fisherman.